HACKENSACK — Police arrested a career burglar yesterday morning as he allegedly tried to make off with jewelry he had stolen from a city home.

Leon Crenshaw, 49, of Paterson, was spotted by a neighbor on the deck of a Euclid Avenue home at approximately 10:19 a.m., according to Capt. Tom Salcedo of the Hackensack Police.

Officers arrived on scene shortly thereafter, and spotted Crenshaw on the property. When they tried to approach him, police say he fled through area backyards.

He was apprehended after only a brief chase, and police later found a black bag he had discarded along the way. Inside was jewelry from both the home he had just robbed and others both in and outside the city, Salcedo said.

Crenshaw has a history of burglaries that stretches across Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties, according to state judicial records. He has served jail time as recently as last year for those arrests.

He was charged with burglary, theft, resisting arrest and possession of burglary tools. He is being held at the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Police believe Crenshaw may be responsible for other recent residential burglaries around the area, Salcedo said, including at least one in Maywood.